“Well, I think it’s a tough situation,” Trump told the “Fox & Friends” gang. “I think it’s really sad. And Al [Sharpton] is just a guy who wants to get publicity for himself. And I understand him very well.”

Al Sharpton called for a boycott of the Academy Awards ceremony after observing that the academy had failed to nominate a single person of color for the second year in a row.

“I saw somebody on your show today say, ‘What do we do with BET, Black Entertainment, right?'” Trump said. “The whites don’t get any nominations. And I thought it was an amazing interview, actually. I’ve never even thought of it from that standpoint.”

He continued: “But with all of that being said, it would certainly be nice if everybody could be represented properly. And hopefully that’s the case, but perhaps it’s not the case. It’s a difficult situation.”